Hi everyone, it's Aunt Frenita
Today's story is called "Bitter Waters Made Sweet"
The memory verse is from Psalm, chapter 138, verse 1
It says: "I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart"
Today's message is: We worship God with joyful praise
The Jones family was on a hike in forest they did not know
They walked for a long time
Soon, they knew that they were lost
Their water bottles were empty, and they were very hot and thirsty
“Let’s stop here,” said Mother, “and ask God to help us.”
After praying together, they began walking again
Before long, they found the right trail
And soon they were back at their campsite
At their campfire that night they worshipped God with joyful praise
Then Mother told the story about a time when the Israelites had water problems too
The joyful celebration on the banks of the Red Sea was over
The pillar of cloud began to move again
The Israelites knew it was time to move on
So they followed the cloud into the desert
For three days they traveled without finding water
The water they had brought with them was gone
They had to find more if they were to stay alive
The cloud led them toward Marah, where they expected to find a spring
Moses had herded sheep in that wilderness for 40 years
He knew the place well
He knew the water at Marah was bitter and not fit to drink
But God had led them to this place
Just as Moses expected, at the first sight of water the joyful cry went up
“Water! Water!”
Men, women, and children rushed to the spring
But as soon as the first of them tasted it, their joy turned to disappointment
It had been just three days since the Lord had worked the miracle at the Red Sea
Just three days since He had destroyed the Egyptian army
It had not been long since they had left Egypt and their lives of slavery
God Himself, in the pillar of cloud, had led them to Marah
But you know what? They forgot all of that!
“What are we going to drink?” they grumbled to Moses
Moses did what the Israelites did not do
He turned to God for help
The Lord showed Moses a piece of wood and told him to throw it into the water
Moses did, and the water became sweet
And then, imagine how the people rushed forward to the water
They had gone fro joy at finding water, to disappointment after tasting it
Now, they were back to joy after God worked the miracle
They were no longer in danger of dying of thirst
They had been saved
And then, God gave them a promise through Moses
“Listen carefully to the voice of the Lord and do what is right in His eyes.”
“If you do what He asks you to do, He will keep you from the diseases of the Egyptians.”
God would keep them from much of what troubled Egypt
Would they worship God with their lives?
Would they honor Him with their obedience?
If they did, God would give them happy lives
God gives you the joy of salvation
Just as the Israelites were saved by the sweet water at Marah
You are saved by the grace of Jesus Christ
That is a reason for joy
“With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation”
That promise is as true for us today as it was for the Israelites
Praise the Lord with joyful praise!